


Return to Sender

by OtterlyDeerlightful



Series: Lifemates AU [6]
Category: LazyTown
Genre: Abandonment, Cake Dad tries to make Pink Daughter feel better, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 15:42:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12609976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtterlyDeerlightful/pseuds/OtterlyDeerlightful
Summary: Stephanie is devastated and Robbie tries his best to help. Or, at least not make things worse.**Takes place during the events of The Curse of Ten**





	Return to Sender

Robbie stared at the seemingly innocuous little sphere sitting in the palm of his hand. It was surreal to be holding it. Sportacus’ crystal. The little orb that had caused him so much trouble in the past. And here he was holding it like it was any old household object. It was so…small. How did Sportacus manage to only lose the helpless little thing _once_ in all the years he had lived in Lazy Town? This little thing, this tiny and seemingly insignificant thing, was the symbol of a hero. It boggled Robbie’s mind just to think about it. So much in such a tiny space…and it was sitting snugly in the palm of his hand. The man felt a shiver ripple up his spine. He shook his head and returned to his work, fixing the elven crystal into the perfectly measured cage he had constructed for it.

“And…done,” he announced to the empty walls of his home and grabbed a pair of pliers. “Stupid Sportadunce…leaving it like this. What was he _thinking_?”

That was the question of the hour, wasn’t it? Sportacus was gone, yet his crystal remained. With Robbie. It was so…surreal. He still couldn’t believe that the elf would trust him so wholly with his hero crystal. Sportacus had already been gone for a few days and, thankfully, nothing warranting the crystal’s panicked shriek had happened during that time. But Robbie didn’t want to push his luck. Lazy Town’s citizens were astoundingly accident-prone and it was only a matter of time until something awful happened. Sportacus had entrusted his crystal to his finance while he was out of town and, despite how much the responsibility terrified him, Robbie was determined not to let the elf down. Even if he was terrible hero material and the absolute worst choice Sportacus could have made as his crystal’s custodian.

At the very least, Robbie knew he had to at least not _lose_ the thing while Sportacus was away.

Robbie twisted the bits of wire with careful, focused fingers. It was finished. The villain set his tool aside and admired his handiwork. The little crystal shone brightly inside of its sturdy, yet pliable, cage that dangled from the looped orange cord. Robbie nodded in satisfaction and set the necklace down on his work bench.

“I think such brilliant handiwork deserves a reward,” he said to himself with a congratulatory tug at his vest. “To the kitchen!”

Robbie strolled across the room, disappearing around the corner and temporarily abandoning the lonesome crystal where it sat on the bench. It was cake-making time. And, as it turned out, it was to be cake-making time for nearly the next hour. Upon completion, Robbie returned to the main room of his lair carrying the fruits—yuck, what an awful phrase—of his labor: a gorgeous, gooey, frost-covered slice of beautifully perfect cake. He let the lovely aroma fill his nostrils as he strode back into the main room, ready to dig into his delicious creation and feel its moist, creamy sweetness on his tongue.

Unfortunately, Sportacus’ crystal had other ideas. The tiny sphere began to flash and screech in earnest, startling its temporary caretaker and probably taking a year off of Robbie’s life in the process. Without the elf there to announce the problem, it took Robbie a moment to fully comprehend what was happening.

“ _Gah!_ Someone’s in trouble!” the villain cried in sudden realization.

Robbie’s arms flew up in alarm as he raced toward the tiny thing screaming and vibrating on his workbench. The suddenly forgotten slice of cake tragically smashed onto the floor behind him in a mushy heap. The man snatched up the crystal and shouted in utmost surprise when a flash of images flooded into his mind.

_Pink. Tears. Paper. Concrete?_

Too late Robbie realized that he really should have asked Sportaflop how his blasted crystal worked before he sauntered off to his little heroes meeting. No _wonder_ the stupid elf always knew where the next catastrophe was taking place—his creepy little crystal beamed the details straight into his brain. Robbie passively wondered if the crystal’s telepathic tendencies had burned away some brain cells over the years; it would certainly explain some things.

“Stop _shrieking_!” he yelled at the tiny object in his hands. “I don’t know what you’re trying to say! Speak—er— _show_ more clearly!”

_Pink. Tears. Paper. Concrete…stairs?_

“Oh, that’s helpful,” he groaned as the images flowed through his mind’s eye again. “Stupid thing. I don’t know how to use this dumb bauble! Sportagetful should have left me a manual.”

He pulled the crystal and its new harness over his head, letting the flashing thing settle against his chest as the villain sprinted toward his periscope. Someone was in trouble and, based on the crystal’s clues, it was probably Pinky. But where _was_ she? Robbie frantically searched the town, his heart all but beating out of his chest. She was in trouble, maybe even in danger, and the stupid crystal wasn’t helping. If something happened to that girl on his watch just because he couldn’t get there in time Sportacus would never forgive him. _He_ would never forgive himself.

“There!” he shouted to no one.

The pink-haired teenager was finally in view. She was crying, as he had expected, no thanks to the so-helpful rock hanging from his neck. She was sitting alone on her front steps. Well…that was anticlimactic. But at least she wasn’t in any immediate danger. The villain let out a long sigh of relief as he let his periscope retract back to the ceiling.

“Girl nearly gave me a heart attack,” he whispered to himself as he hurried toward the lair’s hatch. “Time to play hero, I guess…as gross and awful as that sounds.”

He hauled himself up with a grunt and hurried across town to aid the distraught child.

Robbie was beyond out of breath when he finally found the girl. He tried to call out to her, but all that escaped his lips was a pathetic wheeze of pain. He had to wait until he was a little closer, now bent over with an aching back and legs of gelatin, to try again.

“Little—” _wheeze_ “—pink girl...” _wheeze_ “Wh—what’s—” _wheeze_ “—wrong?”

Stephanie looked up in surprise. She blinked a few times to try and clear her eyes of tears, brushing away the moisture on her cheeks now that she knew she had company.

“Robbie? What are you doing here? Are…are you okay?” Stephanie asked, instantly on her feet out of concern.

The villain made a vague gesture toward the crystal dangling from his neck. “Came to…help,” he managed to say as his lungs slowly began to remember what air felt like.

“Is…is that Sportacus’ crystal?” she asked curiously.

He nodded, making his way over to the stoop. “I thought it was a bad idea for him to leave it with me, too,” Robbie confirmed before collapsing onto the stairs and trying to focus all his energy on breathing.

“I didn’t say that,” the teen said quietly as she sat back down beside the man. “…Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you just ran a marathon.”

“Close enough,” he grumbled as he forced himself to sit up. “So…what’s the trouble?”

“T-trouble?”

Robbie made a face. “Don’t play coy with me, Pinky. You were crying and it got the crystal all flashy, so what’s the problem?”

“Oh, nothing. I’m fine, Robbie, really. But, uh, thank you. I’m sorry for making you come out…”

“You’re as bad at lying as Sportaloon.” He gestured to where Stephanie held one hand just out of sight by her thigh. “What’s wrong I bet it has something to do with that.”

Stephanie froze for a few seconds. Her eyes glanced over to where Robbie had pointed and let out a sigh of defeat. Her shoulders curled forward as she pulled out the thin object from where she had been trying to hide it. She stared sadly at the envelope in her hands as Robbie looked on quietly. It took the girl a minute or so before she could speak.

“It’s…it’s a letter I wrote for my mom.”

Robbie raised an eyebrow. “And that’s what’s got you so down? You wrote a letter?”

Stephanie held out the faintly pink envelope so the villain could see its front. Stephanie’s bubbly handwriting spelled out the letter’s origin and destination while a stamp with a picture of a flower decorated one corner. Across it all was the red ink from a worn stamp that read ‘ _Return to Sender_ ’. Oh.

“I…uh…shoot,” was all that the man managed to say as he stared at the envelope.

Stephanie set the rejected letter in her lap, staring at it silently for a few seconds as she tried to keep her eyes from dropping any more tears. She was not successful.

“I wrote to my mom to tell her about everything. I thought that she’d be really proud if she heard that Sportacus wants me to be Number Eleven. I mean…he wants me to be a _hero_. But…but she didn’t even read it. She didn’t even open it before sending it back. I…I don’t even know if she’s the one who _got_ it. What if she just moved and never told anyone? What if she did it so I’d stop sending her stupid letters? When I first moved here I wrote to her all the time, but she’s replied less and less and…and now this. I haven’t gotten a letter from her in, like, two years.”

Robbie swallowed, not entirely sure what the proper reaction to a pain-filled story like that should be. _What would Sportacus do?_ Hesitantly, the villain reached over and placed a ginger arm around the teenager’s shoulder in a pathetic attempt at a comforting hug.

“Uh…there, there,” he heard himself utter.

 _There there_? Really? Oh dear he was terrible at this!

Stephanie made a noise somewhere between a sob and a laugh as she leaned into his side. He rubbed her arm gently and tried to keep himself from going stiff as a board on the poor child.

“Is…is there something wrong with me?” Stephanie whispered. “Th-there has to be if my…my own mom doesn’t want me…”

Robbie frowned hearing such words escape the lips of Lazy Town’s resident ray of sunshine. Stephanie was one of the most talented children he had ever known. She was creative, she was smart, and even as a small child she had been a force to be reckoned with. There was been no contest in who Sportacus could have chosen as his successor. There was _nothing_ wrong with the pink girl. As far as Robbie was concerned, she was perfect. Since her arrival, the little nuisance had grown on him, weaseled herself into his shriveled rotten heart, and…and he loved her. She was family now, almost like a niece or a daughter. If Stephanie’s mother didn’t want such a wonderful child, the woman was certifiably insane.

He squeezed the girl to his side.

“You’re perfect, Pinky. It’s your mother who has the problem, not you.  Anyone with even half a brain would be proud to have you as their kid—just ask your uncle—but you can’t control how other people think or feel. Trust me, I’ve tried. It never works out well. Everyone in Lazy Town loves you, Stephanie. I assure you, _you’re_ not the problem here.”

“Well _something_ has to be wrong,” Stephanie sighed. She sniffled and leaned against Robbie, getting a gentle squeeze from the man in response. “I love being in Lazy Town. I love Uncle Milford. I love my friends, and…and you and Sportacus…but I…” She sighed. “I really wish my mom wanted me. If she did, I doubt I ever would have moved here in the first place. It took me a while to realize she sent me here to get rid of me...I guess I can’t try and deny it anymore.” She set the envelope in her lap.

Robbie pulled the teen closer, practically pulling Stephanie into his lap. He gently ran his hand up and down the girl’s spine as she started to cry again. He let out a slow breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds before speaking.

“You wanna know something, kiddo?” he asked quietly.

“Hmm?”

“D-don’t go blabbing this around town. Truth be told, Sportaflop doesn’t even know all the details.”

That got Stephanie’s attention. The girl looked up at the town villain with curiosity. She sniffled a bit and wiped gently at the corners of her eyes. Robbie was quiet while he prepared himself. He hadn’t given much thought to that particular aspect of his life in years. It felt strange to revisit it. Even stranger to be sharing it with someone.

“You know how you’ve been pretty much raised by your uncle?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, I was raised by my cousin. I, uh, really don’t have a clue who my dad was, but my mom never actually wanted me. She really wasn’t the _motherly_ type, we’ll say. It was sheer luck that my cousin Glanni found me when he did, and if it wasn’t for him, I, uh…well, let’s just say that if Glanni hadn’t have been there back _then_ , I wouldn’t be _here_ right now.”

Stephanie looked sadly up at the man. Robbie cleared his throat.

“Anyway, sometimes when I was growing up, especially around your age, I would think about my parents and the family I never had and…and I would let it eat at me. A lot. I felt unwanted and worthless and I kept asking myself what was wrong with me that my mother hadn’t wanted me. I’d ask myself again and again if there was something I had done, something I hadn’t done, anything that might explain why I’d been tossed aside. I wallowed in my little pool of self-pity so much that for a while I forgot the family I _did_ have.

“I forgot how much Glanni loved me, and how he took care of me all those years even though he never had to do it in the first place. _Glanni_ cared about even if my mother was too stupid to care about anything but herself. I may not have had the traditional type of family you see in movies all the time, but I still had someone who loved and cared for me, and that was what mattered. And he must have done a decent enough job because I think I turned out pretty great if I do say so myself,” Robbie added with a smile.

Stephanie stifled a giggle.

“You’re a smart kid—almost too smart for your own good—so remember this for me, okay? Just because someone who’s blood may go sour, or turn their back on you, or whatever it might be…that doesn’t mean you don’t still have family who loves you and would do anything for you. Your Uncle loves you more than the world itself and he never shuts up about it. He took you in without a second thought and never looked back. You’re a good kid and he’s proud of you. Heck, the whole _town_ is proud of you. Sportaflop wouldn’t have picked you to be his little protégée if he didn’t believe in you. That man looks at you like you’re his own daughter and he’ll always be there for you whether you like it or not.”

Stephanie smiled warmly up at Robbie. “Kind of like you.”

Robbie’s head jerked back. For a second he wasn’t sure if he had heard the teenager right. Maybe he was getting old and his hearing was going. But, no, her smile said otherwise. As did the gentle hug he soon found himself in. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and shook his head.

“O-okay, that’s enough of that,” he said as he gingerly pried the teen off his body.

Stephanie giggled. “Thanks, Robbie. I…I think I feel a little better.” She looked down at the letter again. “This whole thing with mom still makes me feel…really sad. And it’ll probably make me sad for a while. But…but it’s nice to know I still have a family. I guess I just needed a reminder.”

Robbie shrugged, trying to look as unconcerned as possible, given how his heart fluttered in his chest ever so slightly. “Yeah, well…Sportadope isn’t here, and I doubt his stupid rock would have left me alone if I didn’t come up and talk some sense into you.”

“Heh. Well, Robbie, I think you did a good job filling in for Sportacus.”

He draped an arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Nah, the guy’s too short. I think I’ll leave the heroics to Sportakook.”

She gave him a look.

“What? There’s no way I could fit into those tiny boots of his!”

Stephanie laughed. Robbie squeezed her shoulder and smiled. The teen looked up at the man with a look that triggered a warm sensation in the former villain’s chest. Stephanie wiped her eyes and let out a cathartic sigh. He rubbed her shoulder.

“You’re going to be a great hero, kid.”

Stephanie sniffled, but still smiled.

“You know, Robbie, I think you would make a good hero, too.”

The man blinked a few times as his mind attempted to wrap itself around the girl’s words. His nose twitched and he shook his head. He made a sort of humming sound as he tried to come up with some sort of verbal response.

“Haven’t you ruined my reputation enough over the years?” he stammered.

Stephanie laughed out loud at that. It was music to Robbie’s ears after seeing the child so depressed. He looked down at Stephanie, watching the girl as she took a slow breath before she tore her envelope in two. She ripped it once, twice, and sighed. After a moment of mental preparation, she got up and walked to the nearest trash can to dispose of the pieces. Robbie was about to ask if she was alright when she turned back around with a warm, happy expression on her bright face.

When on earth had the annoying pink child who caused him so much trouble and grief begun to mean so much to him? Robbie had been caught off-guard by Stephanie’s likening him to a father figure, but at the same time, the villain—softie that he was—couldn’t help but feel delighted that she saw him in such a light. He loved the pink little menace. He wasn’t sure where along the line that had happened, but he now realized that, yes, Stephanie _did_ feel a bit like a daughter to him in a roundabout way. Heck, the pink girl was the child of practically all of Lazy Town by this point. The girl would never be wanting for people who loved her. Robbie would make sure of that.

Robbie stood up with a groan, his back popping as he did. “So,” he said with a yawn. “I have a proposal for you. But you have to promise not to tell Sportaloon.”

“Oh?” Stephanie asked in amusement.

“Today was…an emotional day, I think you’d agree. What do you say we go drown whatever’s left of our sorrows in gourmet ice cream?”

Stephanie put her hands on her hips. “ _Robbie_ ,” she scolded playfully, “It’s almost time for dinner.”

“That’s why the blue kangaroo isn’t to know about it,” he replied with a mischievous look. “You gonna make me eat alone?”

“I guess we can’t have _that_ ,” she giggled.

Robbie clasped his hands behind his back while a smug grin sat on his face. “Another successful scheme to make Lazy Town lazy.”

“It was a good one,” Stephanie agreed quietly.

“I’ll say! I’ve already entirely corrupted Number Eleven!”

Stephanie snorted.

The pair started their walk down the street, a pleasant calm in the evening air. Sportacus’ crystal still hung from the thong around Robbie’s neck. It was peacefully quiet where it sat against the former villain’s chest. A steady pale glow was emanating from within the orb.


End file.
